BLCF Vital Signs Full Report
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2017 Vital Signs A healthcheck of key local issues informed by national statistics and community voices in order to start conversations, identify hidden needs and take action where it is required. Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation 1 Contents Page Welcome 3 Bedfordshire and Luton Community 4 Foundation How to Use Vital Signs 5 Methodology 6 Vital Signs Themes 7 Executive Summary 9 Theme 1 Housing 12 Theme 2 Healthy Living 17 Theme 3 Safety 24 Theme 4 Work and Economy 30 Theme 5 Learning and Education 34 Theme 6 Stronger Communities 38 Theme 7 Fairness 41 References 43 2 Welcome to Bedfordshire and Luton Vital Signs This is part of a major new project for the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation, carried out in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire. Our intention is that Vital Signs will inform the development of effective community philanthropy in our area by providing a ‘health check’ on key local issues informed both by statistics and local knowledge and experience. This Vital Signs Report provides the data from the University which will inform our Foundation’s activities and impact by: • reporting on the vitality of Bedfordshire and Luton’s communities using a range of regionally gathered statistics and evidence from local experts • identifying the priority issues which present the most significant challenges and opportunities for change • describing how civil society organisations, i.e. charities, community groups and social enterprises are involved in addressing identified priorities Bedfordshire and Luton Vital Signs is not designed to be the “final word” on the issues it addresses. We do however need to know what people, businesses, public bodies and local groups think about the evidence and priorities; where they think Bedfordshire and Luton are doing well and where they want charitable efforts by donors and civil society groups to be focussed for maximum effect. Publication of Bedfordshire and Luton’s Vital Signs is just the beginning of a process of discussion. This is not just a report, it is an ongoing commitment to understanding the needs and challenges in the county, a way of bringing people together to tackle those needs and of tracking progress and demonstrating impact. This is an exciting time for the Foundation and we are delighted with the research that has been produced by the University. But the true value of Bedfordshire and Luton Vital Signs isn’t just in the information in this report, it’s in what we do with it and our intention is for this to be the catalyst for social change in Bedfordshire, generating discussion and collaboration between all. Fozia Irfan Chief Executive Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation 3 Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation “Our mission is to build partnerships which effectively connect donors with community projects through efficient grantmaking and philanthropy in order to strengthen the communities in Luton and Bedfordshire” Bedfordshire Community Foundation is a registered charity which works to make a difference within the county of Bedfordshire by raising and distributing money directly to local causes, mainly in the form of grants to community and voluntary groups. The Foundation aims to ensure any form of philanthropy, whether from an individual or an organisation is effective and brings greatest benefit to those in need in our local communities. The Foundation currently manages both national funds from organisations such as Comic Relief and the Home Office as well as funds provided by local philanthropists and businesses. Since our inception in 2001, we have invested over £6.5 million into communities within Bedfordshire and the voluntary sector that supports them. We provide administration and management support services to make charitable giving easy and tax-efficient. We also offer donor’s independent advice on charitable giving and a professional grantmaking service, which through our local knowledge links them to local charities that are seeking funding. We have a dynamic new team and vision based on more accessible grantmaking, a deeper understanding of community needs and an effective service for donors. Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the research carried out for this report by the University of Bedfordshire. We would also like to thank the UK Community Foundations, London Luton Airport Ltd and London Luton Airport Operations Limited for their support. Authors: Dr Jaya Ghosh and Dr Gary Manders Project Lead: Fozia Irfan & Dipak Mistry Ghosh,J. and Manders, G.( 2017) Bedfordshire and Luton Vital Signs Report, 2017. Published by Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation 4 How to use Vital Signs We will be using this Vital Signs Report to inform our strategy and improve our grant making, but we want it to have a wider purpose. Our aim is that it will help groups demonstrate the need for their projects, start conversations between donors and recipients, unite communities over a common purpose and bring together representatives from the private, public and voluntary sectors for the good of the county as a whole. To achieve that, we've created two Vital Signs reports. This more comprehensive report presents a more detailed review of the research, highlighting key information from the original research, as well as the vast amounts of additional writing and research that exists focusing on the county. It also provides more results from our focus groups and the online survey, offering a fuller picture of what local people told us. In addition a summary document has been produced for distribution around the county. This is an easily digestible synopsis of the main points, which can be used as the basis for informal discussions. For those of us who operate in the voluntary / community and public sectors, it is hoped that Vital Signs will help point the way towards how we can best allocate our limited resources to deliver the largest and most needed, impact on the lives of those who live in the county Following this publication, we will also be convening a “Vital Thinking” Forum and to that end, please visit our website for information on the Vital Thinking programme. This will offer a venue for local organisations to look at the challenges and issues highlighted by Vital Signs and will also provide an opportunity to discuss ways we in the voluntary and public sectors might work in closer partnership in order to offer a more efficient and effective response to the need that exists in our community. 5 Methodology We are fortunate to have enlisted the University of Bedfordshire in completing this research. They carried out a 3-part approach to this work: • Collating the various studies and statistics for our area that have been published over the past few years and reviewing the research. • Investigating the results of our online Vital Signs survey, to gauge the opinions and perceptions of local residents on issues related to that theme. • Following that, reviewing the feedback provided by our Vital Signs Focus Groups which were held in various areas throughout the county to speak directly to communities. To prepare this report they used many different sources. The initial data came from the Office of National Statistics, the local councils which gave details of statistics at cities (Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton) and district level. Some of the information also came from the 2011 Census. It allowed the combination of data to form county results, results for the region, (Bedfordshire), as well as access to national rankings. The data covered many topics, including economic, social and environmental issues. The results were then combined with other data-sets, including data from the various government departments and data gathered from Local Authorities around the county, along with data from health providers and voluntary sector organisations. The third layer of data was based on Focus Group Discussions and an extensive online survey that was made available through the Foundation, and any of our partners who chose to promote and publicise it. The questions were focussed on the seven core Vital Signs themes. In total four Focus Group Discussions were conducted in Bedford and Luton respectively because we considered it important to take the views of the people of the county on these important issues, whether they were aware of the local, regional or national picture, and asked for their perceptions and opinions rather than what they knew of ‘official’ statistics. For the survey, the self – completed questionnaires were created through using an online survey software, Qualtrics. The surveys were analysed using a statistical software package, SPSS. Statistical analysis involved primarily descriptive statistics on all variables. In total 213 responses were received. We hope that by using wide ranging data-sets, it will present a more coherent picture of the county, and give a clearer indication of actual and perceived strengths and areas for improvement. In comparison with the total population of Bedford and Luton, the responses to the community surveys and Focus Group Discussions come from a relatively small cohort. Further, due to the nature of the survey, it was more heavily weighted towards people who are already active in their community. They may be more aware of opportunities available to people, whereas the ordinary ‘man in the street’ may not carry such knowledge of local community opportunities. Despite this, the responses do represent a significant section of our community, and add a valuable sub-set of data, and so have been included in this report. 6 Vital Signs Themes The Vital Signs report is based on the model used by Canadian Community Foundations to identify areas for future community development. Now the majority of community foundations in the UK, carry out their own individual Vital Signs reports in their counties which are all released in October 2017, together with our international counterparts throughout America and Canada.